The present invention relates to a non-volatile memory and a system technique using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique effective for application to a non-volatile memory which can permit non-volatile software write protect, a memory card and an information processing apparatus each using the non-volatile memory and to a method for software write protect control of the non-volatile memory, in a system using a rewritable non-volatile memory inherently without non-volatile software write protect function, for example, general information processing apparatus, general memory cards and non-volatile memory devices.
For example, the Series 2+ flash memory card of Intel Corp. has been put on market as a flash memory card using a flash memory (flash EEPROM) serving as a non-volatile memory and having the non-volatile software write protect function. The flash memory card uses a flash memory of Intel Corp., having by itself a write protect function in a unit of an erase block.
The "software write protect function" termed herein differs from a "hardware write protect function" based on a write inhibit switch, thus having a meaning of software which permits the user (system) to set, at will, a write inhibit field inside a flash memory area (programmable memory control function), and execution of write protect pursuant to this software can be defined as software write protect.
Incidentally, in the prior art flash memory card mentioned above, the flash memory per se has the write protect function, thus permitting software write protect, but in a memory card using a flash memory having no capability to perform a write protect function at a desired storage area, rewritable non-volatile software write protect of a write protect area is not allowed.